Images

June 13th – Coming to be a common sight about now, a lovely purple flower dots the verges, hedgerows and neglected spaces. I’m fairly sure this is knapweed, and looks very thistle-like, but has no prickles. 

I wonder what the evolutionary genesis of this is – something so similar to another plant, but without the protective defences? Whatever, it’s a really beautiful thing.

June 11th – On a post repair test ride, bad news.

The Watermead swan family are now down to five from the original six. The remaining cygnets looked healthy and well though.

Most likely the victim of a hungry fox, it’s normal to lose a cygnet or two to predators in every urban clutch – we’ve been lucky in recent years to be relatively unscathed, but one has to remember the prodigious clutch sizes of these birds and consider that maybe some population control is natural.

When the youngsters start ground roosting separately as opposed to in a protective huddle, they are easy prey to Reynard and hopeful, the loss has been a warning to the remaining five.

Sad, so very sad – but it’s nature, red in tooth and claw.

June 6th – I had a remarkable journey home, assisted by a big west wind, that blew me back in 45 minutes at an astonishing average of 16mph. I was also remarkable dry, catching only the briefest edge of a squall at Shelfield.

The remarkably local rainfall was illustrated well as I came down Green Lane, where everything was sodden, but the sky was clearing.

A remarkably luck commute – in total contrast to the morning. 
You win some, you lose some…

June 5th – An awful day that found me running around the Black Country on errands. A strong wind, threatening rain and late for a meeting caused me to hop on a train at Wolverhampton.

Wolverhampton station is functional, but I dislike it – it always feels harsh, inhuman and exposed. With threatening skies today it was almost dystopian.

May 31st – Since were in the largely purple phase of flowering now, it would be wrong to overlook this tiny gem. Prolific on grass verges, towpath margins and anywhere with decent light and room to spread, vetch is a gorgeous, long lasting lilac-violet colour and brightens many otherwise dull corners.

It really is a highlight of summer and one I look forward to enjoying seeing.

May 30th – Coming back into Brownhills and passing the appropriately named Catshill Junction, the local neighbourhood watch was on duty, doing what it does best.

Watching the neighbourhood.

Mainly for birds, I think, but I couldn’t actually see the focus of peeping Tom’s attention. But I do think this captures the feline spirit well. Bless – it never paid me any attention at all.

May 25th – Not a brilliant shot but something I’ve not seen growing wild in the UK before – ornamental alliums. These are pretty much onions, similar to wild garlic etc, and several less ornate relatives are common, but I’ve never seen these large, purple globes before outside of gardens.

They’re growing well on the grass edge land at Sandhills, just by Home Farm. I was fascinated to find them.

May 23rd – With warmer weather, during the warm hours, the urban cat population revert ro their languid, lazy norms, finding shady, peaceful spots to doze and watch the world go by – at least until it’s cooler, when they tend to be more active.

Coming through central Walsall in the afternoon, this young overseer of the neighbourhood was en repose on top of the wheeliebins in a shady front garden, and clearly enjoying the cool vantage point.

Seeing such characters emerge is one of the best things about summer…

May 22nd – A long time since I featured Jockey Meadows here – the Site of Special Scientific Interest lying on wetland between Walsall Wood and Shelfield.

Usually the last bit of local landscape to green up, it’s looking splendidly fresh and verdant in the sun, possibly because the annual occupancy by a heard of meadow-maintaining cows haven’t appeared yet.

I notice someone’s come in here with a tractor recently though, which is interesting.

A beautiful and very important place!